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langstroth window?

I hope this doesn't seem like a silly question. I will be getting my first bees in a few weeks and would love to be able to see them through a window in the hive without having to take the top off. I have a traditional langstroth hive and was considering just cutting out a little window on the side of the deep super/hive body. My idea was to cut the wood, attach the glass to the inside of the hive and then replace the wood on the outside with some hinges and a knob so that I can open and close the window whenever I wish to view the bees. Can anyone foresee problems with this idea? Suggestions? Links to a similar design?

Re: langstroth window?

Welcome to Beesource!

One issue with you plan as presented above is that you would be reducing "bee space" by just putting the glass on the inside of the wood hive wall. To solve that problem, once you have cut the window opening, you would need to remove enough wood from the wall to be able to recess the glass so that the inner edge of the glass is flush with the inside of the hive.

Other than that, I'd suggest placing the window on the short wall (16.25" wide on a 10 frame box). This would allow you to see the ends of multiple frames. If you place it on the long wall, all you will see is the outside of the last comb. Note that the short wall is the one that supports the frames, so be sure to leave enough wood to provide adequate support.

Re: langstroth window?

It only really works without foundation and with the window on the long side. If you put the window on the end the end bars block your view. If you put the foundation in, the foundation blocks your view...